|
|
| November 7, 2005 | Monday | Shawwal 4, 1426 |
UN gets only $135 million for quake victims; ‘25pc suffer from ARI’
ISLAMABAD, Nov 6: United Nations flash appeal has so far got a poor response from the member countries and has been able to get pledges and donations worth $135 million only, a UN official said here on Sunday.
The UN had issued a $550 million appeal to help the Oct 8 quake victims. But, the international response is even less than 25 per cent of what the world body had asked for.
With tents and blankets still the main requirement to protect the victims from hypothermia and increased susceptibility to respiratory diseases, the UN has warned of large scale casualties if donors failed to provide sufficient funds for emergency aid work. The UN estimates that a total of $1 billion would be required to complete the relief work. It has asked the government to extend the relief period to until the end of winter.
The official said with limited available resources the UN was trying its best to provide all that was possible to the victims. The UN was focussing on the next four weeks after one month of the devastating quake.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has already said that unless the money is forthcoming it cannot pay for the helicopters needed to position winter food stocks for survivors over the next four weeks. WFP estimates that there are some 2.3 million needing emergency food assistance to survive the bitter winter.
Meanwhile, acute respiratory infections have increased sharply in the earthquake affected areas because of inadequate and improper protection against cold weather.
“There has been a sharp increase in acute respiratory infection, which could possibly lead to pneumonia,” a doctor said adding that the situation was quite desperate.
25 per cent of patient consultations at health facilities have been diagnosed with Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) and 17 per cent with Acute Diarrhoea (AD). Measles, tetanus, impetigo and scabies have been reported. 368 cases of scabies in one location alone have been reported due to related overcrowding and hygiene issues associated with camps.
|
|
